Page 37 of The Duke’s Second Bride (Regency Second Chances #4)

“ T his is very well done, Edith,” Ava said. “Everyone seems to be having a tremendous time.”

Edith hosted a garden party a week later. It was one social event that both Ava and Christian knew they would be going to, without question.

The party was full of everyone from about town. Edith was well known in the ton for her charity work. This particular party was being thrown as a sort of benefit.

Her garden had been outfitted with all sorts of games, from pall-mall to card games. People could bet on the outcomes of the games, and whoever won would donate half of their winnings to a nearby orphanage of Edith’s choosing.

Ava had to commend her friend.

“Even your grumpy husband,” Edith teased. “Although I am not certain that descriptor applies anymore.”

They looked over to see Christian helping Luke aim his pall-mall mallet. Christian patted the boy on the shoulder, sending him off to run with a group of other children.

“Yes,” Ava said. “He could not be further from it.”

She could not help but beam happily as she looked at Christian and saw the way the sun glinted off his bright smile, now a sight she was growing used to.

Edith squeezed her friend’s hand. “I am so happy to see you happy, my dear Ava,” she said. She sighed. “If I am being honest, it is beginning to make me question how happy I am in my unmarried life.”

Ava turned to look at her friend in shock. “Oh? Is that so?” she asked. This was a great surprise to hear.

Edith had always seemed incredibly comfortable in her widowhood. Once she had passed the mourning period, she had immediately begun to use her inheritance and her social acumen to draw attention and money towards several charitable causes, even spearheading some of her own.

Indeed, Ava had often thought her friend too busy with her charitable works to even bother thinking about the possibility of marrying again.

This was an impression that Edith herself often reinforced, thinking out loud about how glad she was to devote her free time to her friendships and her causes.

Edith sighed again and nodded. “It is not that I dislike my life,” she said. “You know how much I love charity work. But… seeing you so happy, it is making me begin to long to experience that kind of love.”

“That entirely makes sense,” Ava said, reaching out to take Edith’s hand once more. “Neither of our first marriages lasted very long. You deserve to hope for romantic love, Edith.”

“Thank you.” Edith offered her a smile. “If only I knew where to begin looking.”

Ava gestured at the party. “I am certain there are many gentlemen here who would be delighted to court a pretty, charitable woman of some means,” she said.

“Lady Nealton?” came a voice from behind them.

Ava nudged Edith. “Speak of the devil,” she whispered.

They turned to see a tall, striking man, broad-shouldered with dark hair and a well-kept beard, standing with an air of quiet authority.

“Ah! Your Graces,” Edith called out, bowing slightly.

Ava’s gaze followed him, and then she noticed the woman beside him. She was elegant and graceful, holding a baby wrapped snugly in a shawl, with two other children close at her heels.

Edith leaned closer. “Perhaps not quite the devil you were hoping for,” she murmured. “Next time, if you could summon a single gentleman for me to speak to, I would most appreciate it.”

Edith raised her voice again. “Your Graces, it is so good to see you both, and your lovely children! Allow me to introduce my dear friend, the Duchess of Richmond. Ava, this is the Duke of Carridan and his wife, the Duchess of Carridan.”

Ava and Edith exchanged curtsies with measured elegance.

“It is a pleasure, Duchess. Congratulations on your recent nuptials. We were delighted to hear of them,” the Duchess of Carridan said, her smile warm but proper as she regarded Ava.

“Thank you, Duchess,” Ava replied, curtseying politely.

The Duchess laughed lightly, bouncing the baby gently in her arms. “Please, call me Iris,” she said, her tone instantly softer. “And you, Lady Nealton, must call me Iris as well.”

Edith inclined her head gracefully. “Then I suppose you may call us Edith and Ava,” she said with a small smile. “We insist. Come, now, you must sit and rest for a while. Surely carrying a child in this weather is no easy task, and your husband can attend to the others?”

The Duke of Carridan chuckled. “Of course,” he said warmly, pressing a quick kiss to his wife’s cheek.

Iris led them to a shaded area with benches, settling herself while still cradling her baby. Edith requested lemonade from a passing servant, and soon the refreshments were brought.

“Oh, it is such a relief to sit,” Iris sighed. “She’s a spirited little thing, but I do love her dearly. I fear she keeps me quite busy!” She smiled down at her daughter, smoothing the baby’s hair. “Perhaps one day she’ll toddle about and surprise us with her own mischief.”

Ava felt a pang in her chest, seeing Iris with the baby. She could not help but glance down at Luke, wishing silently that he might have a sibling.

Her gaze drifted unconsciously toward Christian, who was still watching Luke across the lawn. Their eyes met, and he smiled and waved. Ava returned it, her heart lifting.

Did he dream, as she did, of a child of their own someday?

“She’s so adorable,” Edith exclaimed, gently taking the baby’s hand as Iris allowed a tiny peek at her.

The little girl gurgled happily, clasping Edith’s fingers for a brief moment, eliciting delighted laughter from everyone.

Ava smiled, letting herself take a slow, steadying breath. “I think I should take a walk about the grounds,” she said, standing gracefully and inclining her head to both ladies. “I might enjoy a little more lemonade. Would either of you care for some as well?”

Both women shook their heads politely. “You needn’t fetch it yourself,” Edith said kindly. “I can have it brought to you.”

“I would enjoy a quiet stroll through the gardens,” Ava said, inclining her head to the ladies once more.

“Then enjoy the walk, Ava,” Edith said warmly. Years of friendship had taught her when her friend needed a moment to herself.

“Then I shall see you both shortly,” Ava replied before moving across the lawn, her skirts brushing the grass as she began her solitary walk.

The mixture of heaviness and lightness in her chest was a wonder to behold. Why was it that she was grieving the absence of a child she didn’t yet have? Why was she assuming that things wouldn’t turn out for the better?

She arrived at the refreshment table and poured three glasses.

“It is good to see you looking so well, my dear,” the Dowager Duchess of Richmond said, approaching her. “Are you enjoying yourself?”

Ava curtsied to the dowager duchess. “Very much so,” she replied. “And you, Your Grace?”

The dowager duchess nodded. “Indeed,” she said.

“Lady Nealton has never once hosted an occasion that was not to my liking. She has very excellent taste in decor and in charity works. And in acquaintances, as well,” she said, with a knowing glance towards Ava.

“Though you and I did not know each other well before your engagement to Christian, I was pleased to hear of it.”

“Thank you,” Ava said, surprised and touched. “I am glad to hear you say that.”

“Yes. I trust Lady Nealton’s taste implicitly,” the dowager duchess continued. “Though I do wonder if she wouldn’t be happier to not be all alone in that big house of hers.”

Ava bit back a laugh. It was as though the dowager duchess had somehow telepathically intuited what Edith said barely an hour earlier.

“Perhaps,” she said. “I am certain your friend trusts your taste as much as you do hers. If you have any suitable gentlemen in mind, I am certain she would be open to suggestions.”

The old lady shrugged. “Ah, well. Difficult to find a man worthy of such a fine young lady, hm? Even the best of men these days often require a good bit of patience. You have to wait for them to grow. It requires a special touch not everybody has.” She tilted her head at Ava, then turned to look across the field. “You do.”

Ava followed the older woman’s gaze to where Christian and Luke were, now playing a game of horseshoes. “You are too kind, Duchess.”

“I am merely honest about what I see,” the lady said, in a very no-nonsense tone.

“Christian has always been a good lad, but he is very … locked up, sometimes, with his emotions. And Isabel’s death, may God rest her soul, certainly didn’t help.

But you have been a great tonic for him, my dear.

You seem to have inspired him to become a better version of himself. ”

“I feel as though he does the same for me,” Ava said honestly.

It was true—around everyone else, besides maybe Edith, she had always felt shy, out of place, and unable to speak her mind.

But from the moment she had met Christian, even when they were at odds with each other, she had always felt comfortable telling him her true opinions on just about anything.

“I am glad to hear that, too,” the dowager duchess said. She raised her cane towards Ava, as if in salute. “Now. If you don’t mind, I have several outstanding wagers at this party to win.”

Ava chuckled as she watched the old woman walk away.

I hope I can be like her one day , she thought.

Carefully balancing the three cups of lemonade in her two hands, she began to cross back across the garden towards where Edith and Iris sat, still chatting. Iris had the baby once more, who seemed to be fast asleep in her arms.

The sun had been out all day, but Ava hadn’t quite felt it until now. She felt a sudden rush of heat, accompanied by a wave of unexpected nausea. It came on so quickly and so strongly that she stumbled, nearly spilling the lemonade.

She bumped into the Duke of Carridan, playing with his children.

“Pardon me,” he said, and he steadied her with a respectful hand on her elbow. “Are you quite all right, Duchess?”

Ava shook her head. “Yes,” she said, though she felt quite uncertain even as she spoke the word.

What was that? She had never felt such an odd mix of dizziness and nausea before in her life, not even when she had been very ill as a child.

“I was merely bringing more drinks for Edith and Iris.”

The Duke nodded, though he looked at her cautiously. “Allow me to help you with those lemonades,” he said. “I should be bringing my wife drinks anyway, lest I be dressed down as an inadequate husband.

Ava forced herself to laugh at the joke and to make polite conversation with the Duke of Carridan as he and the gaggle of children walked back over to the shade. But her mind was elsewhere.

Her gaze drifted back over to Christian.

Could this possibly be what she had been so hoping for?